While Bairaagi Shaastry and Narasaraaju were speaking, I
observed many of you were clearing your throats aloud; your
attention should have been devoted to clearing the ears and
removing the cobwebs from the heart. What has the throat to do
with the imbibing of lessons their speeches conveyed? Just as this
mike should be right in front of me, near me but not too near the
mouth to transmit the voice, so too, the heart should be held
right, straight and open to receive the teachings transmitted. If
the heart is turned in some other direction, the teaching will not
be recorded clear and distinct; it gets warped.

Narasimharaaju reminds Me of Shyaamakavi from Bangalore who
died some years ago. He had deep scholarship, vast spiritual
experience, poetic talent and steady devotion. Whatever he touched
ended in failure, but never for an instant did he throw the blame
on the Lord. On the other hand, he became more intimately attached
to Him. The blows of fate did not shake his faith; he stood like a
rock, amidst the angry waves. The mind was trained by him to pass
through joy and grief unscathed.

The real Nature of Man is Equanimity

The discovery of truth - that is the unique mission of Man. Man
is a mixture of Maaya and Maadhava; the Maaya (illusion) throws a
mist which hides the Maadhava (God); but through the action of the
healthy impulses inherited from acts performed while in previous
bodies or through the cleansing done by austerities in this body
or through the grace of the Lord Himself, Maaya melts away; for it
is just a mist which flees before the sun. Then Nara (human) is
transformed into Naaraayana (God) and this Bhuuloka (world) is
elevated into a Prashaanthi Nilayam (place of tranquillity). The
illumination of Viveka (discrimination) will remove the darkness,
which hides the divine essence of man. Today, man hopes to dispel
darkness by the sword, the gun and the bomb, while what is wanted
is just a lamp. How can darkness be swept away by darkness, hatred
by hatred, ignorance by deeper and vaster ignorance? The very lust
for victory promotes darkness. Leave all thoughts of conquest
aside; strive to know the truth and when that is known, false
notions fondly held by you will fall off of their own accord.

See clearly the lovely image that is hidden in the rock.
Release it from that stony prison, remove all the extra stone that
is encrusting the idol - that is the task for you. Do not worry
about Maaya; concentrate on Maadhava; you are certain to succeed.
A tree on the Godhaavari canal bund will not go dry, it will have
a crown of green, for its roots are fed by underground water.
Similarly, be a tree with the roots in perpetual contact with the
flowing waters of the grace of the Lord and you need not worry
about drought.

The dull-witted man runs about madly in pursuit of 'peace of
mind'; trying this prescription for some time and preferring
another afterwards. He is on the wrong path; the path of catering
to the senses, the path beset by Ruupa, Naama and Guna (form, name
and quality) the path of the temporary and the apparent. But the
Mumukshu or the seeker after Moksha (liberation) gets that peace
quite easily. In fact, the real nature of man is Prashaanthi
(equanimity) - steadiness, unshakeable resolution, peace. Nature
is a great store where all things which help you to grasp the
truth are found. The truth is first cognised as 'Sarvam Brahma
Mayam' - all this is imbued with Brahman, directed by Brahman,
composed of Brahman! Then the seeker rises to a greater awareness,
the awareness of 'Sarvam Brahman' - all this is Brahmam; only it
appears as something else for a time to the unopened eyes! The
final state is one where there is not even a Sarvam to be posited
as Brahman; there is just Brahman; the one and only.

Obey Nature's Commands and listen to the Warnings

The lesson is learnt by man when he studies nature, analysing
it and trying to understand it. It is at the mother's lap that the
child learns the art of living; so also it is Prakrithi (nature)
that teaches man how to succeed in the hard struggle and win
Prashaanthi. Break the laws of nature and she boxes you in the
ear; obey Her commands and listen to Her warnings and she will
pass on to you your heritage of immortality.

That is to say, have the Lord as your guide and guardian and
adhere to the rules of Dharma. Let the dull-witted man hug his
delusion that happiness and peace can be secured through slavery
to the senses. Those who know that the world is a mixture of truth
and falsehood, and therefore a big conundrum or Mithya (false),
will leave off the outer attractions and concentrate on the inner
joy of attachment to God. If you are declared "passed", you have
peace; if you are declared "failed", that too solves the problem
for some little time and puts a stop to worry; but if your results
are not announced but withheld (for it is not quite certain
whether you have passed or failed), you suffer the maximum
Ashaanthi (restlessness), is to not? So also, this world which is
neither Sathya (truth) nor Asathya (unreal) but Mithya (false),
breeds profuse Ashaanthi (disturbance) in the mind.

Suffering entitles you more to the Lord's Grace

Non-attachment alone can grant Prashaanthi. Sathsanga (company
of the pious) and the visit to holy places and holy men promote
that attitude and habit. Kuchela was prompted to visit Dhwaaraka
by his wife who had deep devotion; so too unless your Samskaara
(merit of action) is good and your inclinations are elevated, and
elevating, you will not get the idea of coming to Puttaparthi. I
called Narasaraju and his wife for this Shivaraathri here and they
have come. I know him for thirty years, him and his plans and
yearnings and trials and troubles. The Lord responds not merely to
the sweet voiced Kokil (cuckoo) and its song; He gives ear to the
warbles of other birds, too. He gives ear to the wailings of every
being. In fact, suffering entitles you more to the grace of the
Lord. When suffering comes in waves, one behind the other, be glad
that the shore is near; bear them bravely; do not like cowards
throw the blame on some outside power or develop dislike for the
Lord.

The Smarana (remembering) of the self (Aathma) is the spring of
joy; the Smarana of the non-self (An-aathma) is the source of
sorrow. Welcome the test because thereafter you are awarded the
certificate. It is to measure your progress that tests are
imposed. So do not flinch in the face of grief. The Lord bestows a
favour when He decides to test you, for He is impressed by your
achievement and wants to put upon it the seal of His approval.
Rise up to the demands of the test, that is the way to please the
Lord.

The Ways of the Lord are inscrutable

There was a great Bhaktha once who failed in the test and so
could not get the certificate. Every day at noon, he used to look
out for a needy guest whom he could feed lavishly. Thus he spent
years, but one day, a frail old figure toddled into the house and
sat for the dinner. He had crossed the century mark in years. The
host had the steadiness of the vow, but he did not have the
discrimination to derive the fruit of that vow. Like water poured
on a dry sand bed, it did not add to its fertility. His heart
still remained a dry sand-bed, though the waters of charity were
poured on it every noon. The Viveka-less heart drank up the
charity and he was the same strict ritualist. The decrepit guest
was overwhelmed by hunger and so, as soon as the first dish was
served, he swallowed a big morsel without reciting the name of
God. Annoyed at this atheism, the host cursed the old man and
pushed him out of doors to starve or beg in the hot sun.

That night, he had a dream where the Lord chastised him for the
cruelty of his behaviour. The Lord said, "For more than a hundred
years, I nourished that man lovingly as the apply of My eye,
though he never once took a single one of My many names. My dear
man, could you not have suffered him for a few minutes?"
Thiruththondar in Tamilnadu showed how to stand up to this kind of
test when the Lord comes as a hungry guest to the house of the
Bhaktha. The feeling of surrender is the best for success in all
such instances. Let His will be done. He is every One.
Sharanaagathi (seeking refuge for protection) is like grass on the
ground, unaffected by storms; egoism is the Palmyra tree that
sways in the wind but breaks when it blows suddenly in a gust. The
ways of the Lord are inscrutable; your duty is to submit to them
faithfully, thankfully, and joyfully.